William h



(No Model.)

W. H. BAILEY.

EIRE ESCAPE. No. 335,414. Patented Feb. 2, 1886.,

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICEQ XVILLIAM H. BAILEY, OF NE? YORK, N. Y.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 335,414, dated February2, 1886. Application filed August 24,1883. Serial No. 104,611. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. BAILEY, of New York, in the county of NewYork and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in FireEscapes, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description.

This improved fire-escape for buildings consists of a vertical hollow ortubular shaft made of metal, preferably either copper or brass, whichhas been drawn or rolled in the direc tion of the length of the shaft,in combination with brackets or arms or other suitable supports tomaintain it in a vertical position and at a suitable distance from thebuilding, all so as to furnish a ready and practically unobstructedmeans of descent and escape from the building in case of fire, andpreferably also to allow of expansion and contraction of the metalmaking said shaft from variations of temperature.

Again, this improved fire-escape for buildings consists of a verticalhollow or tubular shaft made of metal, preferably either copper orbrass, and preferably drawn or rolled in the direction of the length ofthe shaft, and maintained with suitable supports in a vertical positionat a suitable distance from the building, and otherwise constructed andarranged for water to be entered into it at or near its lower end andconducted through it to be discharged at or near its upper end and theredeflected and showered, as it were, downward along and about and aroundits outside, and to permit of its being used in case of fire as a readymeans of descent, practically unobstructed for substantially its wholeheight, and preferably also to allow of expansion and contraction of themetal making it, from variations of temperature.

Again, this improved fireeseape for buildings consists of a verticalhollow or tubular shaft made of metal, preferably either copper orbrass, and preferably drawn or rolled in the direction of the length ofthe shaft, and maintained with suitable supports in a vertical positionat asuitable distance from the building, and otherwise constructed andarranged to permit of its being used in case of fire as a ready meansfor descent, practically unobstructed for its whole height, andpreferably also to allow of expansion and contraction of the metalmaking it, from variations of temperature, in combination with astationary landing or platform, readily accessible from said shaft, andfrom which the ground or other place of safety can be reached withoutdanger to life or limb.

In the accompanying drawing the present improved fireeseape isillustrated in connection with the front elevation of a dwellinghouse towhich it is applied, and it is shown both in side elevation and in partfront elevation and vertical section.

In the drawing A represents a round metal shaft, made hollow or tubular.This shaft A preferably is made of copper or brass, which may be cast insuitable molds of the size and form required, and the casting then drawnor rolled in the direction of its length by any of the well-knownprocesses practiced in the manufacture of drawn or rolled tubes; or,again, it may be rolled into a sheet, rolling it in the direction of itslength, and then this sheet bent to form and its edges joined by brazingor otherwise, thus making the shaft or tube, which when so formed can beagain drawn or rolled. The shaft A is placed in a vertical position at asuitable distance from the walls of the building to be convenient ofaccess at the windows of the different stories, and it is supported ateach end by abracket or arm, 13 and I I,which are fastened to thebuilding, and the shaft so arranged is practically unobstructed forsubstantially its whole height, rendering it in case of fire a mostready and convenient means of descent. The

shaft is rigidly fastened to the lower bracket I or arm, Bas, forinstance, by screw-nuts O, as shownbut passes loosely through the otherand upper bracket or arm, H, so as to be free to expand or contract fromvariations of temperature. The lower bracket is made with a platform orlanding D, and this platform is located at an elevation, enabling theground or other place of safety to be reached from it without danger tolife or limb. The shaft is open from end to end, and its lower end isprovided with ascrew-threaded collar, E, or other suitable means, for ahose or other water-supply pipe to be attached thereto, for forcingwater upward through the shaft and discharging 'it atits upper endagainst the under and 1 ing and showering the water downward, and

concave surface, F, ofa horizontal cap and deflector G, located andsuitably fastened above said upper end and overlapping all sides of theshaft. By these means water can be showered, as it were, downward overand about and around the shaft, wetting it, as also the person orpersons descending upon it, and consequently protecting the shaftagainst becoming heated to an extent to render it useless as an escape,and by wetting the person or persons descending insuring a certainamount of protection to them against being burned by the flames whichmay be issuing from the building when on fire.

' Fire-escapes such as herein described obviously for use are to beplaced upon the building so as to be most convenient of access from vthe windows of the different stories and afford the requisite means fordescent and escape. More or less of them may be arranged, as described,upon the same building, preferably locating each so as to obstruct tothe least ex tent the windows for ordinary use. v

To use the fire-escape herein described, grasp the shaft A first withthe hands and then with the legs, and while so clinging loweryourselfgradually downward until the platform or landing D is reached, fromwhich escape.

can then be had by simply jumping or dropping to the ground or otherplace of safety. The rapidity of descent is regulated by tightening andloosening the grip of the hands and legs upon the shaft, and if theshaft is made of metal (preferably brass or copper or other metal thatfrom exposure to the atmosphere will not rust, and requires noprotective covering or coating against rust) drawn or rolled in thedirection of its length, and preferably also seamless, and thereby madehard and of great density and perfectly smooth and even and its fibersdisposed longitudinally, plainly all possibility of injury to the handsor limbs of the person in sliding over the shaft is reduced to theminimum, and the escape or descent can be made with the utmost ease,comfort, convenience, and safety. Again, it is substantially impossibleand impracticable to ascend or climb shafts Asurh as above particularlydescribed-and consequently for that reason they are still furtherdesirable, for if capable of easy and ready ascent they wouldconsiderably assist burglars in entering the building.

The shaft A may extend to the ground; but obviously it is preferablethat it should not. If extended, however, to the ground, its support atits lower end may be in the ground and separate from and not attached tothe building.

Landings or platforms D may be arranged at different heights along theshaft A, and if so they should be constructed to offer no obstruction todescending the shaft from top to bottom.

The cap G (shown and described for deflectwhich is arranged at the upperend of the shaft) may be made of other shapes than that particularlydescribed and shown.

A hollow tubular shaft, A, plainly is less expensive than a solid shaft,and yet has all necessary strength. Again, the shaft may be in one pieceor length, or in separate lengths or pieces joined together, preferablyby the use of internal nipples, all well known in joining tubes, andthus leave the outside of the shaft smooth and unobstructed.

The shaft A may be made wholly of one kind of met-a1 or of differentkinds-as, forinstance, with brass or copper drawn or rolled over itsoutside.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A fire-escapecomposed of a continuous vertical hollow shaft made of metal drawn orrolled in the direction of the length of the shaft, in combination withsupports at the upper and lower ends of the shaft, to maintain it in itsvertical position, whereby is formed an escape free from obstructionsbetween its upper and lower supports, substantially as described.

2. A fire-escape composed of a vertical hollow metal shaft that atitslower end isadapted to have a water hose or pipe attached to it,

and at its upper end provided with means to deflect the water thereescaping from it downward, in combination with supports to maintain saidshaft in itsvertical position, substantially as described, for thepurpose specified.

3. A fire-escape composed of a vertical 1101-- low metal shaft withsupports at its upper and lower ends and free from projections betweenits supports, in combination withapl'atform or landing at its lowerportion, substantially as described.

4. A fire-escape composed of a vertical hollow metal shaft that at itslower end is adapted to have a Water hose or pipe attached to it, and atits upper end provided with means to deflect the water there escapingfrom it downward, and of supports to maintain said shaft in its verticalposition, in combination with a platform or landing at its lowerportion, substantially as described, for the purpose speci-' 5. Afire-escape composed of a vertical shaft, in combination with supportsat each end, the lower of which is rigidly attached to and the upper isloose about said shaft, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing wit- I nesses.

WILLIAM H. BAILEY. Witnesses:

EDWIN W. BROWN, WM. S. BELLOWS.

